Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard headline my Friday night NBA prop bets for the first-round tripleheader.
The pregame narrative: Doncic and Lillard have both excelled recently against their respective opponents and should be relied upon for further production. In the first game of the night, look for Derrick White to continue his run as a high-floor scorer.
Check out the best NBA prop bets for first-round playoff action on April 25.
NBA prop bets
Best Bet: White over 17.5 points (-125)
After White torched the Orlando Magic in their series opener, he cooled down significantly in Game 2. But he was still reasonably productive.
- Game 1: 30 points, 55.6 FG% (7-for-12 from 3-point range)
- Game 2: 17 points, 42.9 FG% (3-for-10 from 3-point range)
Jayson Tatum (wrist) is doubtful to play tonight after missing Game 2. Tatum averaged a team-high 10.1 attempted 3s this season, so his absence leaves a lot of vacated shots.
Next up on the Celtics’ list of volume 3-point shooters is White, who averaged 9.1 attempted 3s during the year.
Sure enough, White’s 10 attempted 3s led the Celtics in Game 2.
The eighth-year guard has played nine games without Tatum this season, averaging 20.3 PPG and cashing this bet seven times.
Key stat: The last time White faced the Magic in Orlando (Dec. 23), he played a team-high 40 minutes and scored 17 points. Tatum was absent for that game, too.
Best NBA picks
Doncic over 30.5 points (-120): Doncic was quieted by the Timberwolves in all three regular-season matchups this season. He shot 37.5% and didn’t even hit the 25-point mark once.
But how much does that matter when the playoffs come around? Not much at all, it seems.
Check out his playoff numbers vs. Minnesota since last year’s Western Conference finals:
- 32.9 PPG
- 31+ points in 6 of 7
- 42.3 3PT%
So far in this series, Doncic has 37 and 31 points, respectively, in the two games.
The Lakers have ample star power, but Doncic is the one shining brightest right now. And based on how he’s tortured the T-Wolves in the recent past, I think he’s worth a play at this line.
Lillard over 6.5 assists (-120): Lillard’s return after five-ish weeks on the shelf was a bit underwhelming in the scoring department. But in addition to 14 points on 13 shots, he posted seven assists.
Maybe he’ll get into more of a scoring groove tonight, but either way, I like this line for Lillard’s assists prop.
- He averaged 7.1 APG on the season.
- He has 7+ assists in 4 of 5 games vs. the Pacers this year (8.8 APG average in those games).
- Indiana allowed the 11th-most assists to opposing point guards (8.99/game), according to Betting Pros.
NBA prop picks made at 1:05 p.m. ET on 04/25/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.